You could see it in her eyes. If you knew her you saw something was just so wrong..

Britney Spears' hairstylist pal on dark side of fame

- TOM BRYANT

From a marriage ban, to not being allowed her own credit cards and even forced on to birth control, Britney Spears had her life mapped out by others for almost 14 years.

The extraordinary restrictions placed on her life only came to an end last year as the conservatorship put in place by a US judge was terminated.

For Julianne Kaye, it marked the end of a traumatic chapter in her friend’s life – and one far removed from the bubbly, fresh-faced girl she knew long before the dark side of fame took hold.

The Hollywood stylist was just 23 years old when she took on the job of a lifetime, accompanying Britney on tours around the world from Europe to Asia.

She struck up a close, almost sisterly, friendship and saw the huge pressure she was under after bursting on to the scene with Baby One More Time in 1998.

Long before Britney’s breakdown in which she shaved her head – and lost custody of her children – the cracks were showing as she struggled in the spotlight.

Julianne recalls vividly a trip to London where her car was mobbed by fans and paparazzi as the two women attempted to head out from their hotel.

“She just started crying and she was like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on? I just want to go shopping,’” Julianne says. “It just got really crazy. And then it meant her having to be locked into her hotel room because it just was dangerous.”

Britney was always saying she just “wanted to be normal” but her level of fame at the time precluded her from any semblance of normality. She felt, in effect, trapped, says Julianne.